Climate bill must work for consumers: Public Citizen is calling on the Senate to improve climate legislation by stripping out corporate giveaways and include strong protections for struggling energy consumers and the environment. Tell the Senate to stand up to special interests and take care of consumers!

Dangerous dialing: Public Citizen recently obtained documents showing that since 2003, the government has known that drivers talking on their cell phones experience the same potentially deadly distraction whether they are using a handheld device or hands-free technology. By doing so, the government has endangered even more lives and led consumers to believe that it is safe to talk on their cell phones while driving if they kept both hands on the wheel. In fact, motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content. Learn more.

Everybody in, nobody out - single-payer now! What a time it was! More than 2,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to show Congress and President Obama the kind of support single-payer health care has in America. With the Capitol looming in the background, our own Dr. Sidney Wolfe spoke, as did Obama's former physician, Dr. David Scheiner. Also attending were doctors, nurses, lawyers, politicians, activists, seniors, faith groups, students - all calling loudly for a better system. They came from New York, Pennsylvania, California, Wisconsin, Georgia and many other states, all bearing a common desire: a single-payer system. Read more about the rally. View the photos and watch a video of Dr. Wolfe speaking.

Study adds to case that FDA should ban Avandia: New research Public Citizen published in July reinforces the case that the diabetes drug Avandia can cause death from liver failure and should be banned immediately. We petitioned the Food and Drug Administration in October to ban the drug because its risks, which include heart attack and heart failure in addition to liver toxicity, far outweigh its benefits. Learn more.

Medical malpractice payments fall to record low: Medical malpractice payments were at record or near-record lows in 2008, but the decline almost certainly indicates that a lower percentage of injured patients received compensation, not that health safety has improved. Learn more.

Wouldn't that be great? It's a commonsense priority of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency that President Obama has proposed creating. The likelihood that the agency could ensure you don't need a law degree to understand your mortgage - and stamp out predatory lending and forced arbitration in home contracts in the process - would be great news for consumers. Learn more at Citizen Vox.

Will the real new Dems please stand up?

The (New) Democratic Leadership Council has just put out a 14-page brief called "Toward a New Trade Agenda," and it offers anything but. It starts off with some relatively unobjectionable material but then takes a weird turn. Learn more at Eyes on Trade.

Whistleblower rights advance:

After many months of advocacy and negotiations, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bipartisan bill that would dramatically strengthen and modernize protections for federal government whistleblowers. Learn more at the Watchdog Blog.

Texas coastal wind production:

One type of wind power that is being developed extensively and contributing to Texas' renewable generation assets is coastal wind. In 2009, several new wind projects have been brought online and are continuing to be developed. Learn more at Texas Vox.

Clunkers: Still not enough answers: Even if current "cash-for-clunkers" fund has been exhausted, this is not an indication that the program is meeting its goals of reducing harmful emissions and stimulating the economy. The Senate should not rush to provide additional funding. Public Citizen is demanding records from the government that are needed to assess the program's value. Learn more.

Fair elections bill stands best chance in decades for passage: Public Citizen applauds the rapid and solid support building for passage of the Fair Elections Now Act. While Congress grapples with the nation's most pressing problems, the House Committee on Administration recognizes that the overwhelming influence that money has over politics must be as high a priority for Congress as it is for the American people. Learn more.

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